U.S. patent application number 15/150527 was filed with the patent office on 2016-09-01 for hygiene monitoring system.
The applicant listed for this patent is Hill-Rom Services, Inc.. Invention is credited to Dennis J. Gallant, Phillip J. Hausman, Timothy D. Wildman.
Application Number | 20160253897 15/150527 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32111004 |
Filed Date | 2016-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160253897 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wildman; Timothy D. ; et
al. |
September 1, 2016 |
HYGIENE MONITORING SYSTEM
Abstract
A system and method is provided for monitoring hygiene
compliance.
Inventors: |
Wildman; Timothy D.;
(Metamora, IN) ; Gallant; Dennis J.; (Harrison,
OH) ; Hausman; Phillip J.; (Cary, NC) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Hill-Rom Services, Inc. |
Batesville |
IN |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
32111004 |
Appl. No.: |
15/150527 |
Filed: |
May 10, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14302821 |
Jun 12, 2014 |
9396638 |
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15150527 |
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14049308 |
Oct 9, 2013 |
9349267 |
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14302821 |
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13734328 |
Jan 4, 2013 |
8598996 |
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14049308 |
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12901891 |
Oct 11, 2010 |
8368544 |
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13734328 |
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12185556 |
Aug 4, 2008 |
7812730 |
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12901891 |
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11339378 |
Jan 25, 2006 |
7408470 |
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12185556 |
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10698652 |
Oct 31, 2003 |
7015816 |
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11339378 |
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09699796 |
Oct 30, 2000 |
6727818 |
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10698652 |
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60162537 |
Oct 29, 1999 |
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60169315 |
Dec 7, 1999 |
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60223365 |
Aug 7, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
340/573.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K 2005/1218 20130101;
G16H 40/67 20180101; G16H 50/80 20180101; G16H 40/20 20180101; G16H
40/63 20180101; G08B 21/245 20130101; G08B 21/02 20130101; G16H
80/00 20180101; G06F 19/3418 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G08B 21/24 20060101
G08B021/24 |
Claims
1.-20. (canceled)
21. A system for monitoring hygiene compliance, the system
comprising a plurality of first sensors operable to monitor a
location of a person in a facility; a computer receiving location
information regarding the location of the person in the facility;
and a plurality of second sensors operable to sense hand washes by
the person, the computer receiving handwashing information
regarding the hand washes, wherein the computer is operable to keep
track of periods of time the person spends in each location of the
facility monitored by the plurality of first sensors, wherein the
computer determines hand washing compliance by correlating hand
washes with an amount of time within which the person enters or
exits each location.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer is further
operable to update status information associated with the person to
indicate that the person is compliant if the computer determines
that the period of time the person has remained in a current
location after handwashing is less than an exit time associated
with the current location.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer is further
operable to update status information associated with the person to
indicate that the person is compliant if the computer determines
that the period of time the person has remained in a current
location after handwashing is greater than an exit time associated
with the current location but is less than an exposure time
associated with the current location.
24. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer is further
operable to update status information associated with the person to
indicate that the person is compliant if the computer determines
that the period of time the person has remained in a current
location after handwashing is less than an exit time associated
with the current location but is greater than an exposure time
associated with the current location.
25. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer is further
operable to update status information associated with the person to
indicate that the person is not compliant if the computer
determines that the period of time the person has remained in a
current location after handwashing is greater than an exit time
associated with the current location and is greater than an
exposure time associated with the current location.
26. The system of claim 21, further comprising a plurality of alert
indicators, at least some of the plurality of alert indicators
being located in proximity to a respective second sensor of the
plurality of second sensors.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein each alert indicator is
configured to display text messages relating to handwashing
compliance of the person.
28. The system of claim 26, wherein each alert indicator is
configured to display a visual indicator relating to a handwashing
policy of the facility.
29. The system of claim 26, wherein at least some of the plurality
of alert indicators are coupled to a respective patient bed of a
plurality of patient beds.
30. The system of claim 26, wherein at least some of the plurality
of alert indicators are located on a wall of a respective room.
31. The system of claim 21, further comprising a badge worn by the
person, the badge being operable to communicate with each sensor of
the plurality of first sensors.
32. The system of claim 31, wherein the badge includes a first
receiver to receive wireless signals.
33. The system of claim 32, wherein the first receiver receives
wireless signals of a type different than those that are
transmitted by the badge.
34. The system of claim 33, wherein the badge transmits radio
frequency (RF) signals and/or infrared (IR) signals.
35. The system of claim 21, wherein each sensor of the second
plurality of sensors is associated with a respective sink.
36. The system of claim 21, wherein each sensor of the second
plurality of sensors is associated with a respective faucet.
37. The system of claim 21, wherein each sensor of the second
plurality of sensors is associated with a respective dispenser.
38. The system of claim 37, wherein at least one of the respective
dispensers comprises a towelette dispenser.
39. The system of claim 37, wherein at least one of the respective
dispensers comprises an alcohol dispenser.
40. The system of claim 37, wherein at least one of the respective
dispensers dispenses a hand sanitizer substance.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 14/302,821, filed Jun. 12, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. ______,
which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/049,308,
filed Oct. 9, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,349,267, which is a
continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/734,328, filed Jan. 4,
2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,598,996, which is a continuation of U.S.
application Ser. No. 12/901,891, filed Oct. 11, 2010, now U.S. Pat.
No. 8,368,544, which is continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.
12/185,556, filed Aug. 4, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,812,730, which
is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/339,378, filed
Jan. 25, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,408,470, which is a continuation
of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/698,652, filed Oct. 31, 2003, now
U.S. Pat. No. 7,015,816, which is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/699,796, filed Oct. 30, 2000, now U.S. Pat.
No. 6,727,818, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/162,537, filed Oct. 29, 1999, and claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/169,315, filed Dec.
7, 1999, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/223,365, filed Aug. 7, 2000; and all of the foregoing patents
and patent applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference
in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to a system for monitoring
compliance with hygiene policies.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Systems to promote hygiene have been used in the healthcare
industries as well as the food processing and preparation
industries. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,482, U.S. Pat. No.
6,038,331, U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,573, U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,924, U.S.
Pat. No. 5,954,069, U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,910, U.S. Pat. No.
5,939,974, U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,801, U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,059, U.S.
Pat. No. 5,793,653, U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,942, U.S. Pat. No.
5,610,589, U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,666, and U.S. Pat. No.
5,199,118.
SUMMARY
[0004] Hygiene monitoring systems, which incorporate various
features of the present invention, monitor location of persons in a
facility, location of equipment in the facility, activities
performed by persons in the facility, activities performed by
equipment in the facility, and/or activities performed on equipment
in the facility. From such gathered information, the hygiene
monitoring systems determine whether certain actions (e.g. washing
of a person's hands, washing of a piece of equipment) need to take
place in order to comply with a hygiene policy defined for the
facility. The hygiene monitoring systems may evaluate level of
compliance with the hygiene policy, and provide persons with
information (e.g. alerts, reminders, etc.) which aid in increasing
the level of compliance with the hygiene policy.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a hygiene monitoring system
which incorporates various features of the present invention
therein;
[0006] FIG. 2 shows a caregiver wearing a badge interacting with a
handwashing device of the hygiene monitoring system;
[0007] FIG. 3 shows a patient room and exemplary alarm units of the
exemplary hygiene monitoring system;
[0008] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary hygiene compliance report being
displayed by an exemplary master station of the exemplary hygiene
monitoring system;
[0009] FIG. 5 shows a pictorial representation of a multi-zonal
patient room;
[0010] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart representation of first handwashing
logic used by the hygiene monitoring system;
[0011] FIG. 7 shows an exemplary path that a caregiver may take
through a facility over a period of time;
[0012] FIG. 8 is presented as FIG. 8a and FIG. 8b that together
show a flowchart representation of second handwashing logic which
may be used by the hygiene monitoring system;
[0013] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart representation of equipment
decontamination logic which may be used by the hygiene monitoring
system;
[0014] FIG. 10 shows a sample hospital summary compliance
report;
[0015] FIG. 11 shows a sample department summary compliance
report;
[0016] FIG. 12 shows a sample group summary compliance report;
[0017] FIG. 13A shows a sample individual summary compliance
report;
[0018] FIG. 13B shows a sample individual detailed compliance
report; and
[0019] FIG. 14 shows an exemplary user interface of the hygiene
monitoring system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications
and alternative forms, exemplary embodiments thereof have been
shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be
described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there
is no intent to limit the invention to the particular forms
disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all
modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the
spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended
claims.
Hygiene Monitoring System Architecture
[0021] FIGS. 1-4 illustrate an exemplary hygiene monitoring system
100 which incorporates various features of the present invention
therein. In general, the hygiene monitoring system 100 is operable
to monitor compliance with a particular hygiene policy defined for
a facility. To this end, the exemplary hygiene monitoring system
100 includes handwashing devices 101, sensors 108 associated with
the handwashing devices 101, caregiver badges 112, equipment badges
113 for monitoring equipment 115, alert indicators 116, sensors 118
operable to communicate with caregiver badges 112 and equipment
badges 113, usage sensors 119 associated with monitored equipment
115, cleaning sensors 121 associated with monitored equipment 115,
and a master station 129.
[0022] The master station 129 includes memory 125, a processing
unit 126 and software stored in the memory 125. The software when
executed by the processing unit 126 generally causes the master
station 129 to monitor persons and equipment within the facility to
monitor compliance with a hygiene policy defined for the facility.
More specifically the master station 129 is operable to generate a
compliance report 128 based upon the processing of data by the
central processing unit 126. Examples of compliance reports are
shown in FIGS. 4, 10-12, 13A, 13B, and 14. Further, the master
station 129 may be hardwired to the sensors 108, 118, 119, 121 in
order to receive and/or transmit information therebetween.
Alternatively, the master station 129 may communicate wirelessly
with the sensors 108, 118, 119, 121.
[0023] The caregiver badges 112 are generally worn by persons to be
monitored such as caregiver 110 shown in FIG. 2. The caregiver
badges 112 are generally operable to communication identification
information to the sensors 108, 118. Accordingly, the badges 112
and the sensors 108, 118 generally each include a receiver, a
transmitter, a combination transmitter and receiver, a transceiver,
or other receiving or transmitting mechanisms suitable for
communicating identification information between the badges 112 and
the sensors 108, 118.
[0024] For example, each badge 112 of the exemplary embodiment
includes an infrared (IR) transmitter which transmits an
identification signal 109, which may include, for example an
identification code specific to the person wearing the badge 112.
Further, each sensor 108, 118 of the exemplary embodiment includes
a receiver operable to receive the identification signals 109
transmitted by badges 112. Further, each sensor 108, 118 is
operable to forward the information received to the master station
129. In this manner, the location of each caregiver 110 wearing a
badge 112 may be tracked as the caregiver 110 moves throughout the
facility. Besides providing the master station 129 with
identification information about the caregiver 110, functions (e.g.
deactivating a nurse call light) may be triggered upon reception of
the identification signal by a sensor 118 associated with the
function (e.g. a sensor in the patient room associated with the
nurse call light).
[0025] In an exemplary embodiment, each badge 112 includes an IR
transmitter. The IR transmitter transmits the identification signal
109 to master station 129 via the sensors 108, 118. For example, as
diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 2, the IR transmitter of a
badge 112 transmits the identification signal 109 to an IR receiver
of a sensor 108 mounted above a handwashing device such as sink
102. The sensor 108 then provides the information received via the
identification signal 109 to the master station 129 for further
processing and recording.
[0026] Each badge 112 may further include an RF transmitter which
also transmits the identification signal 109 to the master station
129. The advantage of transmitting using both the IR and RF
transmitters is that if the IR transmitter becomes obscured the RF
signal should still be detectable. The RF transmitter may also be
used to transmit an alert signal in response to the pressing of a
button on the badge 112.
[0027] Each badge 112 may further include an RF receiver that is
operable to receive a signal, such as handwash signal 184 in FIG.
5, from the master station 129, wherein the signal includes the
identification information for the badge 112 and status information
about the caregiver 110 wearing the badge 112. The status
information relates to the caregiver's compliance with the
handwashing standards. Dependent upon the type of status received,
the badge 112 is operable to activate either a visual, audible or
tactile alert indicator 116.
[0028] In one embodiment of the hygiene monitoring system 100,
visitors and patients are also provided with badges 112 so that
their movements throughout the facility may be monitored. In such
an embodiment, visitors and patients are given active badges which
actively transmit an identification signal. In an alternative
embodiment, visitors and patients are given passive badges which
transmit an identification signal when polled by anyone of a
plurality of transmitters located throughout the facility. The
advantage of the passive badges are that they are relatively
inexpensive and have a limited read range (approximately nine
feet). The limited read range of the passive badges allows the
location of the visitors and patients (or other objects) to be
tracked more closely. By providing badges 112 to visitors the
system is able to track the exposure each visitor and hence the
patient's they come in contact with has had with other
contamination zones. Additionally, providing badges 112 to the
patients allows the system to track the exposure each patient has
with other contamination zones within the facility as the patient
moves about the facility.
[0029] The equipment badges 113 are generally attached to equipment
115 (e.g. IV pumps, ventilators, carts, diagnostic equipment, or
the like) to be monitored by the hygiene monitoring system 100 and
generally enable the location of equipment 115 to be tracked
throughout the facility. The equipment badges 113 are generally
operable to communicate identification information to the sensors
118. Accordingly, the badges 113 and the sensors 118 generally each
include a receiver, a transmitter, a combination transmitter and
receiver, a transceiver, or other receiving or transmitting
mechanisms suitable for communicating identification information
between the badges 113 and the sensors 118. As a result of
providing the hygiene monitoring system 100 with information
concerning the location of equipment 115, the hygiene monitoring
system 100 may further base determinations of hygiene compliance
based upon the location of the equipment 115 and/or persons'
interactions with such equipment 115.
[0030] The usage sensors 119 are generally associated with
equipment 115 in the facility and generally enable the hygiene
monitoring system 100 to monitor the use of such equipment 115. For
example, the usage sensors 119 may be attached to the electrical
plug of the equipment 115 to determine whether the equipment 115 is
drawing a current. Further, the usage sensors 119 may be included
in the equipment badge 113 or be separate from the equipment badge
113 attached to the equipment 115. The usage sensors 119 enable the
hygiene monitoring system 100 to base determinations of hygiene
compliance upon actual use of equipment 115. Furthermore, by
reporting when the equipment 115 is activated and de-activated, the
usage sensors 119 enable the hospital to charge patients for the
actual amount of time the equipment 115 was used instead of
utilizing national averages based on the type of illness of the
patient.
[0031] Likewise, the cleaning sensors 121 are generally associated
with equipment 115 in the facility and generally enable the hygiene
monitoring system 100 to monitor cleaning of such equipment 115 by
providing the hygiene monitoring system 100 with information
associated with the cleaning of the equipment 115. For example, the
cleaning sensors 121 may be implemented as a switch or button which
when activated provides the master station 129 with information
indicating that there as been an attempt to clean the equipment
115. Alternatively, the cleaning sensors 121 may be implemented to
detect moisture and/or physical contact associated with the
cleaning process. In an exemplary embodiment, the master station
129 and/or the cleaning sensor 121 further ensures that adequate
cleaning of the equipment 115 has been performed by requiring that
the person cleaning the equipment 115 be in the proximity of the
equipment 115 for a minimum amount of time and/or moisture
associated with the cleaning process be detected for the minimum
amount of time and/or physical contact associated with the cleaning
process be detected for the minimum amount of time.
[0032] The equipment badges 113 may be implemented in the same
manner as the caregiver badges 112. Alternatively, the equipment
badges 113 may be implemented with general active badges which
actively transmit a signal including the state of the associated
usage sensor 119, the state of the associated cleaning sensor 121
and identification information associated with the equipment 115.
As yet another alternative, the equipment badges 113 may be
implemented as passive badges which transmit a signal including the
state of the associated usage sensor 119, the state of the
associated cleaning sensor 121 and the identification information
for the equipment 115 when polled by the hygiene monitoring system
100. To support the passive badge embodiment, the hygiene
monitoring system 100 may include transmitters in the patient room
to poll the passive badges. The transmitters, in one embodiment,
further include an associated sensor to detect the signals
transmitted by the badges.
[0033] The badges 112, 113 and sensor 108, 118 may further utilize
anti-collision technology which allows for information to be
transferred between a single sensor 108, 118 and multiple badges
112, 113 in a simultaneous or pseudo-simultaneous (e.g. TDMA, CDMA)
manner. Any commercially available anti-collision technology may be
used. Use of this technology allows for several badges 112, 113 to
be detected at the same time by the same sensor 108, 118 thereby
providing the hygiene monitoring system 100 with the ability to
identify caregivers and equipment 115 in close proximity to one
another and accurately track their respective hygiene status. Thus,
when a team of doctors and nurses is caring for a patient, the
hygiene monitoring system 100 is able to identify the individual
persons within the group of caregivers and monitor their hygiene
status. Likewise, the hygiene monitoring system 100 is operable to
determine individual persons of a group of persons in front of a
particular handwashing device 101 during a handwashing.
[0034] Additional details concerning the structure and function of
a suitable system for locating and tracking persons and which may
be utilized to support various other features of the present
invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,412, the disclosure
of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Another location and
tracking system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,344,794 which is
hereby incorporated by reference. Additional location and tracking
systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,275,385; 4,601,064; Re
35,035; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,633,742; 5,745,272; 5,818,617; 5,119,104;
5,387,993; 5,548,637; 5,572,195; 5,291,399; 5,455,851; 5,465,082;
5,515,426; 5,594,786; 5,689,229; 5,822,418; 5,822,544; 5,699,038
and 5,838,223.
[0035] Shown in FIG. 2 is an exemplary sink 102 which may be used
to implement the handwashing devices 101 of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the exemplary sink 102 includes a "hand free"
faucet 104 having an IR sensor and a faucet monitoring device 106.
However, it is within the scope of the present invention to include
a faucet 104 which is not "hands free" and a separate IR sensor or
an IR sensor that is activated upon activation of the faucet 104.
Water is dispensed from faucet 104 when the presence of the
caregiver's hands 107 are detected by faucet monitoring device 106
or when the caregiver otherwise activates faucet 104. The IR sensor
of the "hands free" faucet 104 senses the heat (IR energy) radiated
from caregiver hands 107. The sensed heat is an indication to
faucet monitoring device 106 that hands 107 are positioned below
the faucet and are ready to be wetted. Upon activation of faucet
104 a washing compliance signal is generated and forwarded to
master station 129 by faucet monitoring device 106.
[0036] Alternatively, the faucet monitoring device 106 may include
a photosensor or other type of non-contact sensor. Additionally, a
sensor may be mounted within faucet 104 to determine when water is
expelled from faucet 104. Yet another alternative faucet monitoring
device 106 includes a sensor 120 on a soap dispenser 121 to monitor
the usage of soap during the handwashing. Faucet monitoring device
106 could include multiple sensors such as an IR sensor to sense
the presence of hands 107 and a soap dispenser sensor 120 to detect
the usage of soap during washing.
[0037] The compliance signal generated by faucet monitoring device
106 and the identification signal received by sensor 108 combine to
provide information about the identity of caregiver 110 in front of
sink 102 and whether or not caregiver 110 washed his/her hands 107.
Both signals are generated and recorded without any input required
from caregiver 110. In the exemplary embodiment, the compliance
signal is generated over eleven input lines which connect faucet
monitoring device 106 with sensor 108, one line for each bit. The
first eight bits communicate data from the faucet monitoring device
106 to sensor 108 while the last three bits communicate data from
sensor 108 to faucet monitoring device 106. Bit 1 is used as a
fault bit. A "0" value indicates that the faucet is operating
properly while a "1" value indicates that the faucet is not
operating properly. Bits 2 and 3 are handwashing status bits. The
combination of bits 2 and 3 have the following states: "00" no
handwashing procedure in progress, "10" handwashing procedure in
progress, "11" successful handwashing procedure, and "01" failed
handwashing procedure. Bits 4-8 provide an indication as to the
maintenance status of the various components related to faucet
monitoring device 106, such as faucet 104 and soap dispenser 121. A
"1" value for bit 4 indicates that the soap container is low, a "1"
value for bit 5 indicates that the soap caseate needs to be
changed, a "1" value for bit 6 indicates that the soap path needs
to be changed, and a "1" value for bit 7 indicates that the towel
container is low. It is within the scope the invention to monitor
various other parameters in place of or in addition to the ones
listed above.
[0038] Bits 9-11 are used as input to faucet monitoring device 106
from sensor 108. Bit 9 is used as a badge presence indicator. In
one embodiment, bit 9 provides a "1" value when an identification
signal 109 is detected by sensor 108. In another embodiment, bit 9
provides a "0" value when sensor 108 is receiving an identification
signal 109 from a contaminated caregiver 110 and a "1" value when
sensor 108 is receiving an identification signal 109 from a
non-contaminated caregiver 110 or no identification signal is being
received. Bit 10 is used to communicate whether sensor 108 is
functioning properly and if sensor 108 is able to communicate with
master station 129. Bit 11 is used to send a message to faucet
monitoring device 106 to start a self test procedure. In one
embodiment, faucet monitoring device begins monitoring for
compliance only when the presence of hands 107 are detected and bit
9 from sensor 108 indicates that an identification signal has been
detected.
[0039] When a caregiver 110 is positioned in front of sink 102,
sensor 108 detects identification signal 109 transmitted by badge
112 as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2. Sensor 108 is mounted
above sink 102 and includes an IR receiver connected to the hygiene
monitoring system 100. The received identification signal is
forwarded onto master station 129 and recorded. It is within the
scope of the present invention as presently perceived to use a RF,
ultrasonic or other suitable system for detecting the presence of a
caregiver in contamination zones, patient rooms, or by sink 102.
Alternative devices can be used for sensor 108 such as a radio
receiver if badge 112 transmitted a radio signal instead of an
infrared signal.
[0040] Sensor 108 combines the compliance signal from faucet
monitoring device 106, bits 1-8, and the received identification
signal 109. The combined signal or packet is transmitted to or made
available to or detected by master station 129. In a preferred
embodiment, sensor 108 includes a radio frequency transmitter to
transmit a radio frequency transmission to master station 129. In
one embodiment the combined signal or packet consists of 35 bits.
Bits 1 and 2 are start bits. Bits 3-10 are a portion of
identification signal 109, the LO Byte of the caregiver ID. Bit 11
is a parity bit for use as an error check for bits 3-10. Bits 12-19
are a portion of identification signal 109, the HI Byte of the
caregiver ID. Bit 20 is a parity bit for use as an error check of
bits 12-19. Bits 21-28 are the eight bits sent to sensor 108 from
faucet monitoring device 106. Bit 29 is a parity bit for use as an
error check for bits 21-28. Bits 30-33 are extra bits for expansion
use, such as to communicate the status of various pieces of
equipment, lights, IV pumps, etc. Bit 34 is a parity bit for use as
an error check for bits 30-33. Bit 35 is a stop bit.
[0041] Besides sinks 102, the handwashing devices 101 as depicted
in FIG. 5 may also be implemented with automatic alcohol dispenser
210, dispensers 250, or other monitored devices with which a person
may successfully wash her hands in accord with a hygiene policy. In
some environments, it is permissible for caregiver 110 to cleanse
hands 107 with an alcohol towelette dispensed by alcohol dispenser
210, as opposed to washing her hands in front of a sink with soap
and water. Therefore, in one embodiment of the hygiene monitoring
system 100, the hygiene monitoring system 100 further tracks
whether persons wash their hands with an alcohol towelette that is
dispensed from the automated alcohol dispenser 210 and updates
compliancy information based upon such determinations. To this end,
the hygiene monitoring system 100 utilizes a sensor such as sensor
108C proximate with the alcohol dispenser 210 to determine whether
the person has washed her hands via the alcohol dispenser 210.
[0042] In some environments, it is also permissible for caregiver
110 to cleanse hands 107 with a waterless hand sanitizer such as an
alcohol based gel dispensed from dispenser 250. An exemplary
dispenser 250 is the "Bag-in-a-Box Dispenser" which receives a
bladder filled with hand sanitizer. Dispenser 250 further includes
a sensor 108 to detect identification signal 109 transmitted by
badge 112. Sensor 108 either detects signal 109 and then waits to
sense a dispensing of hand sanitizer or is activated upon the
detection of hand sanitizer being dispensed from dispenser 250.
Therefore, in one embodiment of the hygiene monitoring system 100,
the hygiene monitoring system 100 further tracks whether persons
wash their hands with hand sanitizer dispensed from dispenser 250
and updates compliancy information based upon such
determinations.
[0043] In a further embodiment, the dispenser 250 is implemented as
a portable dispenser, similar to a pump bottle or squeeze bottle,
which is carried by caregiver 110. Portable dispenser 250 includes
a sensor to detect when sanitizer is dispensed from dispenser 250.
An example sensor would be a sensor to detect the movement of the
stem of a hand pump on a pump bottle or the movement of sanitizer
through an orifice. The use of portable dispenser 250, which is
small enough to fit in the caregiver's coat or pocket, provides
caregiver 110 with easy access to hand sanitizer and does not
require additional hardware such as sensors and dispensers to be
mounted on the wall in various locations throughout the
hospital.
[0044] Portable dispenser 250 either includes a transmitter such as
equipment badge 113 or a combination transmitter and receiver. In
one embodiment wherein only a transmitter is used, portable
dispenser 250 is assigned to caregiver 110 such that the equipment
badge 113 of the dispenser 250 either transmits an identification
signal which is identical to or incorporates a portion of caregiver
identification signal 109 or an identification signal which is
associated with caregiver 110 in a database at master station 129.
In another embodiment wherein both a transmitter and a receiver or
a transceiver is associated with portable dispenser 250, portable
dispenser 250 receives identification signal 109 from caregiver
badge 112. Portable dispenser 250 then forwards a signal such as
the caregiver identification signal plus a compliance signal onto
master station 129 either directly or through sensor 118.
[0045] Alert indicators 116 generally provide caregivers with
feedback concerning their current contamination status and/or
infraction status. In one embodiment, visual alert indicators 116
are included in the proximity of sinks 102, such as on faucet 104.
The visual alert indicators 116 are capable of providing textual
messages "either continuously or at defined intervals and
potentially other visual cues such as blinking diodes. The visual
alert indicators 116 may provide feedback to caregiver 110 on
whether a successful handwashing has been accomplished or not. The
visual alert indicators 116 may also provide messages such as
"HANDWASHING CONFIRMED" or "SUCCESSFUL" for a properly completed
handwashing event. The visual alert indicators 116 may also provide
messages such as "WARNING HANDWASHING FAILED" or "FAILED" when
caregiver 110 has not completed a successful handwashing. An
unsuccessful handwashing would occur for example when caregiver 110
uses water but not soap. Further, the visual alert indicators 116
also provides information about the maintenance state of the
faucet, sink or other devices. Example messages include "SINK READY
FOR USE", "SELF-TEST IN PROGRESS", "WARNING! SOAP CONTAINER LOW",
"WARNING! CHANGE SOAP CASSETTE", "WARNING! CHANGE SOAP PATH", or
"WARNING! TOWEL CONTAINER LOW."
[0046] The alert indicators 116 may also be placed in various
locations in the patient rooms such as on bed 122, on the wall of
the patient's room, or incorporated into an overhead lighting
fixture 114 as shown in FIG. 3. Such alert indicators 116 may be
implemented to either remind caregiver 110 to wash hands 107 or to
indicate that a handwashing compliance signal has been recorded.
The timing for each type of indication is explained below in more
detail with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 8. For example, such an
alert indicator 116 may include a set number of lights or a single
light which are covered by a colored semi-transparent shield.
Various indications are given based on which lights in the set of
lights are turned on and which lights in the set of lights are
turned off or whether any of the lights in the set of lights are
flashing. In one embodiment, the light shield contains a graphic
message such as "handwash verified" as shown in FIG. 3.
[0047] In embodiments where alert indicators 116 are located
throughout a facility, the master station 129 may cause a signal to
be directed to an alert indicator that is in close proximity to the
caregiver 110. For example, the master station 129 may provide a
handwash signal to an alert indicator 116 in the same room as the
caregiver 110 when a handwash condition exists for the caregiver
110. In such an embodiment, the alert indicators 116 may be either
"wirelessly connected" or "hard-wired" to the master station 129.
Moreover, the alert indicator 116 in such embodiments could be
implemented as a bank of lights including a light corresponding to
each person monitored, or it may be implemented with remote units
such as, for example, banks of lights or speakers that have been
mounted in various locations in the facility.
[0048] Alert indicators 116 may also be implemented in a portable
manner. For example, alert indicators 116 may be incorporated into
badges 112 or carried by caregiver 110 as a separate unit, such as
a pager-type unit. Such alert indicators 116 would include a sensor
to receive handwash signal 184 provided by the hygiene monitoring
system 100. In one embodiment, the portable alert indicators 116
include a radio frequency receiver to receive a signal from master
station 129, sensor 108 or other sensors such as sensor 118. The
received signal includes the caregiver ID to distinguish between
different caregivers 110 and an infraction level code to
communicate the status of the caregiver 110, either in compliance
with the handwashing standards or out of compliance with the
handwashing standards.
[0049] The alert indicators 116 may be implemented to vary output
based upon the number of non-compliance data 140 which is recorded
by system 100 for caregiver 110. In one embodiment, lights are
included on badge 112, such as light emitting diodes. When
caregiver 110 is complying with handwashing regulations the lights
on badge 112 are off. When caregiver 110 enters a contamination
zone the lights or at least one of the lights blinks yellow to
indicate that caregiver 110 has entered a contamination zone. If
caregiver 110 violates the handwashing standards, i.e. a
non-compliance signal 140 is generated, the lights or at least one
of the lights slowly blinks red. If caregiver 110 does not wash
hands 107 at this point and violates the handwashing standards a
second time the lights or at least one of the lights blinks red at
a faster rate. If caregiver 110 commits a third consecutive
infraction of the handwashing standards then the lights or at least
one of the lights blinks red very fast. If the caregiver 110
commits a fourth consecutive infraction of the handwashing
standards then the lights or at least one of the lights remains on
and an alarm is sounded by an audible or tactile indicator on badge
112.
[0050] It is within the scope of the invention as presently
perceived to implement alert indicators 116 to include visual,
audible and/or tactile indicators which respectively produce visual
signals, audible signals, and tactile signals. An example of a
visual indicator is a LED, an example of an audible indicator is a
speaker, and an example of a tactile indicator is a vibration
device similar to a pager vibration device.
Multi-Zonal Patient Rooms
[0051] In FIG. 5 is shown an example of patient room 230 having
generally five different zones. An entry zone 220, a clinical zone
222, a patient zone 224, a family zone 226 and a hygiene zone 228.
All of these zones except for the family zone 226 has a sensor 118
associated therewith. As shown in FIG. 5, caregiver 110 enters
patient room 230 through the entry zone 220. As the caregiver
enters the entry zone 220, the identification signal 109
broadcasted by caregiver badge 112 is detected by sensor 118A. If
caregiver 110 proceeds to the patient zone 224, then the signal
broadcasted by the caregiver badge 112 is detected by sensor 118C.
Patient zone 224 is a critical contamination zone. Therefore, the
hygiene monitoring system 100 initiates the first handwashing
monitoring logic depicted in FIG. 6. Also shown in FIG. 5 are
various handwashing devices 101 such as two sinks 102A and 102B
each containing a sensor 108A and 108B, respectively, an automated
alcohol dispenser 210, and a dispenser 250 of hand sanitizer.
[0052] In one embodiment, patient room 230 further includes a
sensor 254. Unlike sensors 118A-118D which generally receive
signals 109 when caregiver 112 is within the corresponding zone
220, 222, 224 and 228, sensor 254 generally receives signal 109
when caregiver 112 is present in patient room 230 independent of
whether caregiver 112 is within one of the zones 220, 222, 224 and
228 or elsewhere in patient room 230. As such, sensor 254 is a low
resolution aspect of the hygiene monitoring system 100 while
sensors 118A-118D are a high resolution aspect of the hygiene
monitoring system 100. Sensor 254 is designed to be compatible with
badge 112. Therefore, if badge 112 emits only an IR signal 109 then
sensor 254 should be designed to receive an IR signal 109.
Alternatively, if badge 112 emits both an IR signal 109 and a RF
signal 109 then sensor 254 should be designed to receive either IR
signal 109, RF signal 109 or a combination of IR signal 109 and RF
signal 109.
First Handwashing Logic
[0053] A flowchart is depicted in FIG. 6 which illustrates first
handwashing logic implemented by the hygiene monitoring system 100.
In the exemplary embodiment, the master station 129 includes
software which when executed by the master station 129 causes the
hygiene monitoring system 100 to implement the first exemplary
handwashing logic as depicted in FIG. 6. However, while the
exemplary embodiment of the hygiene monitoring system 100
implements the handwashing logic of FIG. 6 with software executed
by the master station 129, the handwashing logic of FIG. 6 may
alternatively be implemented with hardware incorporated in a
central device such as the master station 129 or distributed
amongst the other components of the hygiene monitoring system 100.
Furthermore, the software can be implemented as a stand alone
program or can be integrated into the software of an existing
system for locating and tracking persons in a facility.
[0054] In an exemplary embodiment, the hygiene monitoring system
100 invokes execution of the first handwashing logic as represented
by block 130 every time a caregiver identification signal 109 is
detected in a nurse or patient contact zone, such as a patient room
or nurse station. The presence of caregiver 110 in such a zone is
determined by the hygiene monitoring system 100 upon the detection
of identification signal 109. The hygiene monitoring system 100
determines, based on the previous recorded locations of caregiver
110, if caregiver 110 has complied with handwashing standards.
Therefore, the hygiene monitoring system 100 monitors for
compliance based upon the occurrences of specific events. The
hygiene monitoring system 100 also evaluates the time elapsed
between handwashings to determine if a preset maximum time has been
exceeded. Therefore, the hygiene monitoring system 100 further
monitors for compliance based upon frequency of handwashings.
[0055] Once execution of the first handwashing logic is initiated,
the hygiene monitoring system 100 evaluates the previous location
of caregiver 110 as indicated by block 132. The current and
previous locations of caregiver 110 are determined and stored by
the hygiene monitoring system 100 during the cause of operation.
The elapsed time since the last recorded compliance data record is
determined by the hygiene monitoring system 100, as indicated by
block 133. The hygiene monitoring system 100 next determines, as
indicated by block 134, if a handwashing compliance signal has been
received in conjunction with the previous location of caregiver
110. A handwashing compliance signal is generated by faucet
monitoring device 106 or other handwashing device when caregiver
110 washes hands 107 and is transmitted to or detected by master
station 129. If a handwashing compliance signal has been received,
the compliance data is recorded, as indicated by block 136. If a
handwashing compliance signal was not recorded, the hygiene
monitoring system 100 moves to block 138 which determines whether
the previous location of caregiver 110 was a contamination
zone.
[0056] A contamination zone is any area designated by the hospital
where after caregivers have entered they must wash her hands.
Typically, a contamination zone is an area in which caregiver 110
is susceptible to contact with infectious agents. Examples are a
patient room, a bath room, a waste station or a nurse station. If
the previous location of caregiver 110 was a designated
contamination zone a handwashing non-compliance data is recorded as
indicated by block 140. The non-compliance data is recorded because
caregiver 110 has left a contamination zone and entered a nurse or
patient contact zone without washing hands 107, thereby putting
patients and colleagues at risk of infection.
[0057] If the previous location of caregiver 110 was not a
contamination zone at block 138, the hygiene monitoring system 100
continues to block 139 and determines if the maximum time permitted
between handwashings has been exceeded. If the maximum time has
been exceeded, then a handwashing non-compliance record is recorded
by block 140. If the previous location of caregiver 110 was not a
contamination zone and the maximum time permitted between
handwashings has not been exceeded, the hygiene monitoring system
100 returns to block 132 and evaluates the twice previous location
of caregiver 110. If a handwashing compliance was not indicated for
the twice previous location nor was the twice previous location a
contamination zone, the hygiene monitoring system 100 returns to
block 132 and evaluates the thrice previous location of caregiver
110, assuming that the maximum time permitted between handwashings
has not been exceeded. The hygiene monitoring system 100 continues
until either a handwashing compliance record is recorded by block
136 or a handwashing non-compliance record is recorded by block
140.
[0058] If a non-compliance data record is recorded by block 140,
the hygiene monitoring system 100 generates a handwash alarm signal
as represented by block 182. The hygiene monitoring system 100 then
sends the handwash alarm signal to an alert indicator 116 of
caregiver 110. The sensor on the alert indicator 116 receives the
alarm signal represented by block 184, and the alert indicator 116
provides the caregiver 110 with an alert signal, represented by
block 186. Example alert signals include visual signals, audible
signals, tactile signals or combinations thereof.
[0059] Referring now to FIG. 7, there is depicted a hospital ward
142 and a sample path 144 taken by caregiver 110 through the
hospital ward 142. The location of caregiver 110 is detected by
sensor 118a-118d when caregiver 110 is next to patient bed
150a-150d, respectively. The location of caregiver 110 is detected
by sensor 108a-108e when caregiver 110 is near sinks 102a-102e,
respectively. At other locations in hospital ward 142, the location
of caregiver 110 is detected by sensors 118e-1180.
[0060] Caregiver 110 starts at nurse station 146 as indicated by
position (A). Caregiver 110 next leaves nurse station 146 and
enters a patient room 148a and approaches the patient bed 150a, as
indicated by position (B). Caregiver's badge transmits a signal
which is detected by sensor 118a and read by master station 129
indicating that the caregiver is by position (B), thereby
initiating the hygiene monitoring system 100 to begin execution of
the handwashing monitoring logic because caregiver 110 has entered
a nurse or patient contact zone, near patient bed 150a. The
previous position (A) of caregiver 110 does not have a handwashing
compliance signal recorded and position (A) is a contamination
zone. Therefore, a non-compliance data record is recorded at block
140.
[0061] Caregiver 110 next leaves position (B) without washing hands
107 at sink 102a and enters a second nurse or patient contact zone,
patient room 148b next to patient bed 150b, as indicated by
position (D). Once again, the hygiene monitoring system 100
initiates execution of the first handwashing logic because
caregiver 110 has entered a nurse or patient contact zone, near
patient bed 150b. The previous position (C) of caregiver 110 does
not have a handwashing compliance signal recorded. However,
position (C), a hallway, is not a contamination zone. After
determining that the maximum time permitted between handwashings
has not been exceeded, the twice previous caregiver location,
position (B) in patient room 148a near bed 150a is evaluated.
Position (B) does not have a handwashing compliance signal
recorded. However position (B) is a contamination zone. Therefore,
a non-compliance data record is recorded at block 140.
[0062] Caregiver 110 next enters bathroom 154b, at position (E) and
then washes hands 107 at sink 102b, position (F). Therefore, a
handwashing compliance signal is generated by faucet monitoring
device 106b.
[0063] Caregiver 110 next enters a third nurse or patient contact
zone at position (H), patient room 148c. Once again, the hygiene
monitoring system 100 initiates execution of the first handwashing
logic because caregiver 110 has entered a nurse or patient contact
zone. The previous position (G) of caregiver 110 does not have a
handwashing compliance signal recorded. However, position (G), a
hallway, is not a contamination zone. After determining that the
maximum time permitted between handwashings has not been exceeded,
the twice previous caregiver location, position (F) in patient room
148b near sink 102b is therefore evaluated. Position (F) does have
a handwashing compliance signal recorded. Therefore, a compliance
data record is recorded at block 136.
[0064] Caregiver 110 continues on to position (J), a waste station
158, which is a contamination zone. Next, caregiver 110 washes
hands at position (K), sink 102e. Therefore, a handwashing
compliance signal is generated by faucet monitoring device 106e.
The fact that caregiver 110 did not wash hands 107 between
locations (H) and (J) is acceptable, as long as the maximum time
permitted between handwashings has not been exceeded, because
caregiver 110 did not enter a nurse or patient contact zone between
locations (H) and (J).
[0065] Caregiver 110 continues on to position (M) a fourth nurse or
patient contact zone, patient room 148d next to patient bed 150d.
Once again, the software is initiated by central processing unit
126 and begins its handwashing monitoring logic. The previous
position (L) of caregiver 110 does not have a handwashing
compliance signal recorded. However, position (L), the hallway, is
not a contamination zone. After determining that the maximum time
permitted between handwashings has not been exceeded, the twice
previous caregiver location, position (K) near sink 102e is
evaluated. Position (K) does have a handwashing compliance signal
recorded. Therefore, a compliance data record is recorded at block
136.
[0066] Caregiver 110 continues on to nurse station 146, position
(P). Since caregiver 110 is in a nurse contact zone at position
(P), the hygiene monitoring system 100 initiates execution of the
first handwashing logic. The previous position (0) of caregiver 110
does not have a handwashing compliance signal recorded. However,
position (O), a hallway, is not a contamination zone. After
determining that the maximum time permitted between handwashings
has not been exceeded, the twice previous caregiver location,
position (N) in patient room 148d near bed 150d is evaluated.
Position (N) does not have a handwashing compliance signal
recorded. However position (N) is a contamination zone. Therefore,
a non-compliance data record is recorded at block 140.
[0067] Caregiver 110 achieved a forty percent compliance rating,
washed hands 107 two out of five required times, for path 144, as
shown in FIG. 7. Compliance report 128 provides the compliance
rating of caregiver 110 and provide information such as the time
each compliance record was recorded, the time each non-compliance
record was recorded, and the locations of each, see FIG. 13B.
[0068] The above handwashing monitoring logic may further utilize a
delay timer to prevent a brief encounter with a patient contact
zone to require a caregiver to wash her hands. For example, upon
detecting the identification signal 109 from caregiver badge 112
within a patient zone, the hygiene monitoring system 100 will delay
a preset amount of time before starting the handwashing monitoring
logic, such as 15 seconds. If the identification signal 109 is
still detected in the patient contact zone after the present amount
of time has expired, then the handwashing monitoring logic begins.
Therefore, a caregiver simply dropping off a lunch tray will
probably not invoke the handwashing monitoring logic, while a
caregiver who is interacting with a patient probably will invoke
the handwashing monitoring logic.
Second Handwashing Logic
[0069] Referring now to FIG. 8, there is illustrated a flowchart of
second exemplary handwashing logic which may be implemented by the
hygiene monitoring system 100. The second exemplary handwashing
logic of FIG. 8 is essentially an alternative to the first
exemplary handwashing logic of FIG. 6. In the exemplary embodiment,
the master station 129 includes software which when executed by the
master station 129 causes the hygiene monitoring system 100 to
implement the second exemplary handwashing logic as depicted in
FIG. 8. However, while the exemplary embodiment of the hygiene
monitoring system 100 implements the handwashing logic of FIG. 8
with software executed by the master station 129, the handwashing
logic of FIG. 8 may alternatively be implemented with hardware
incorporated in a central device such as the master station 129 or
distributed amongst the other components of the hygiene monitoring
system 100. Furthermore, the software can be implemented as a stand
alone program or can be integrated into the software of an existing
system for locating and tracking persons in a facility.
[0070] In general, the master station 129 in accord with the
alternative handwashing logic of FIG. 8 determines whether various
events have occurred based upon information (e.g. caregiver
location, handwashing information) received from the various
sensors of the hygiene monitoring system 100. Events are points in
time at which some change in status may take place. Typically,
events are caused by movement of persons into or out of a zone, or
the expiration of a time limit for a person in a given zone, or by
other mechanisms. In an exemplary embodiment, the master station
129 determines that a caregiver 110 has moved between two zones
when the badge 112 worn by the caregiver 110 is detected in the
first zone, the badge 112 is later detected in the second zone, and
the badge 112 ceases to be detected in the first zone.
[0071] In an exemplary embodiment, the master station 129
determines that a controlled Handwash Event has occurred when a
caregiver 110 wearing a badge 112 has successfully completed a
handwashing at a monitored handwashing device such as sink 102.
(See, steps 320, 328, and 332). Moreover, the master station 129
further updates a Contamination Status associated with the
caregiver 110 to indicate that the caregiver 110 is "Not
Contaminated" whenever the caregiver 110 wearing a badge 112 has
completed a successful handwashing, updates and Infraction Status
associated with the caregiver 110 to indicates that the caregiver
110 is "Compliant", and if the caregiver was contaminated prior to
the controlled Handwashing Event updates the compliance rating for
the caregiver. For example, a successful handwashing occurs when
the badge 112 worn by the caregiver 110 is detected by a sensor 108
associated with sink 102 for a duration greater than or equal to a
preset amount for a successful handwashing. It is within the scope
of the invention to require additional parameters to be satisfied
for a handwashing to be successful, such as soap was dispensed,
drying unit or towel was detected.
[0072] The master station 129 of the exemplary embodiment also
determines that an Exposure Event has occurred when a caregiver 110
wearing a badge 112 has been in a contamination zone for longer
than a Exposure Time associated with that contamination zone. The
Exposure Time is the amount of time for a particular contamination
zone, that a caregiver 110 can remain in a particular contamination
zone without causing an Exposure Event. (See, 314 and 316).
However, the master station 129 may also determine that an Exposure
Event has occurred when the hygiene monitoring system 100 has not
detected a caregiver 110 wearing a badge 112 for more than an hour
or some other preset amount of time. (See, steps 300 and 304).
Further, the master station 129 may also determine that an Exposure
Event has occurred when the master station 129 determines that more
than thirty minutes or some other preset amount of time has past
since a controlled Handwashing Event has been associated with the
caregiver 110 (i.e. the caregiver 110 has not successfully washed
her hands for more than some preset amount of time). (See, steps
302 and 304).
[0073] In the exemplary embodiment, the Exposure Time is
independently defined for each contamination zone of the facility
and is typically defined at a constant value for a particular
contamination zone. However, the Exposure Time for a particular
contamination zone may alternatively be defined based upon a
particular caregiver or class of caregivers. For example, the
Exposure Time for a particular contamination zone may be defined to
cause an Exposure Event for a first caregiver if the first
caregiver remains in the contamination zone for ten seconds and
cause an Exposure Event for the second caregiver only if the second
caregiver remains in the contamination zone for at least twenty
seconds. Moreover, when determining how long a particular caregiver
110 has been exposed to a particular contamination zone, the master
station 129 of the exemplary embodiment considers a caregiver 110
to have been continuously exposed to the contamination zone if the
badge 112 worn by the caregiver 110 is continuously detected in the
same contamination zone, regardless of whether the same badge 112
is detected in other zones as well.
[0074] The Exit Time is a preset amount of time associated with a
particular contamination zone which defines an amount of time that
a caregiver 110 has to exit the particular contamination zone
following a controlled Handwashing Event without being
re-contaminated by the contamination zone. In general, the Exit
Time extends the length of time after a controlled Handwashing
Event that a caregiver 110 may remain in the contamination zone
without being re-contaminated by the contamination zone. In other
words, the master station 129 of the exemplary embodiment
determines that an Exposure Event has occurred for a caregiver 110
wearing a badge 112 when the caregiver 110 performs a successful
handwashing at a monitored handwashing device within a
contamination zone and the caregiver 110 remains in the
contamination zone for the duration of the greater between the
Exposure Time and the Exit Time. (See, steps 318, 320, 322, and
316). In a high risk contamination zone (e.g. isolation room, waste
utility room, public restroom) having an Exposure Time of zero
associated therewith, the Exit Time permits a caregiver 110 to
perform a successful handwashing within the high risk contamination
zone and exit the high risk contamination zone within the Exit Time
without causing an Exposure Event despite the fact that the
Exposure Time had been exceeded.
[0075] Similar to the Exposure Time, the exemplary embodiment
defines the Exit Time independently for each contamination zone of
the facility and typically defines the Exit Time at a constant
value for a particular contamination zone. However, the Exit Time
for a particular contamination zone may alternatively be defined
based upon a particular caregiver or class of caregivers. For
example, the Exit Time for a particular contamination zone may be
defined such that the master station 129 determines that an
Exposure Event has occurred for a first caregiver of a first class
of caregivers (e.g. nurses) if the first caregiver does not exit
the contamination zone within ten seconds of the controlled
Handwashing Event and determines an Exposure Event has occurred for
a second caregiver of a second class of caregivers (e.g.
physicians) only if the second caregiver does not exit the
contamination zone within twenty seconds of the controlled
Handwashing Event.
[0076] In an exemplary embodiment, the master station 129
determines that an Infraction Event has occurred when a caregiver
110 has committed a violation of the handwashing standards. In the
exemplary embodiment, the master station 129 determines whether an
Infraction Event has occurred based upon information (e.g.
caregiver location, handwashing information) received from the
various sensors of the hygiene monitoring system 100. In an
exemplary embodiment, the master station 129 utilizes the following
rules to determine whether an Infraction Event has occurred.
[0077] 1) An Infraction Event occurs each time a caregiver 110
exits a contamination zone while "Contaminated", and then does not
successfully wash her hands within a Trigger Time of exiting the
contamination zone.
[0078] 2) An Infraction Event occurs each time a caregiver 110
while "Contaminated" enters a contamination zone, and then does not
successfully wash her hands within a Entry Time of entering the
contamination zone.
[0079] The exemplary embodiment defines the Trigger Time as the
time for a particular contamination zone that a contaminated
caregiver 110 may leave that particular contamination zone without
successfully washing the hands at a monitored handwashing device
(i.e. cause a controlled Handwashing Event) and not generate an
Infraction Event. The exemplary embodiment further defines the
Entry Time as the time for a particular contamination zone that a
contaminated caregiver 110 may remain in that particular
contamination zone without successfully washing her hands at a
monitored handwashing device (i.e. cause a controlled Handwashing
Event) and not generate an Infraction Event. Similar to the
Exposure Time, the Trigger Time and the Entry Time of the exemplary
embodiment are independently defined for each contamination zone of
the facility and are typically defined at a constant value for a
particular contamination zone. The Trigger Time and Entry Time,
however, may alternatively be defined based upon a particular
caregiver or class of caregivers. For example, the Trigger Time for
a particular contamination zone may be defined such that the master
station 129 determines that an Infraction Event has occurred for a
first caregiver if the first caregiver does not successfully wash
her hands (i.e. generate a controlled Handwashing Event) within ten
seconds of exiting the contamination zone and cause an Infraction
Event for a second caregiver only if the second caregiver does not
successfully wash her hands (i.e. generate a controlled Handwashing
Event) within twenty seconds of exiting the contamination zone.
[0080] The following scenario of events is provided in order to
provide further insight into how the second handwashing logic of
FIG. 8 may be utilized. For example, in response to a caregiver
entering the facility for the first time as a new shift begins, the
exemplary hygiene monitoring system 100 would likely determine that
either a preset period of time has past since the caregiver was
last detected (step 300) or would determine that a preset period of
time has past since the last successful handwashing was detected
(step 302) and thus process an Exposure Event (step 304). The
hygiene monitoring system 100 in processing the Exposure Event
generally updates information associated with the caregiver by
storing the identification code (i.e. ID) of the caregiver received
from the caregiver's badge 112, storing the time the hygiene
monitoring system 100 detected the Exposure Event, and updating the
contamination status for the caregiver to "Contaminated". Moreover,
the hygiene monitoring system 100 in processing the Exposure Event
provides the caregiver with an indication of the contamination
status associated with the caregiver by, for example, causing the
badge 112 to blink yellow.
[0081] In response to the badge 112 indicating that the caregiver
is contaminated, the caregiver may then stop at a sink 102 located
in a non-contamination zone and successfully wash her hands, thus
causing a controlled Handwashing Event. Accordingly, the hygiene
monitoring system 100 detects the controlled Handwashing Event in
the non-contamination zone (step 330) and process the controlled
Handwashing Event (step 332). In particular, the hygiene monitoring
system 100 in processing the controlled Handwashing Event updates
information associated with the caregiver by recording the ID of
the caregiver, recording the time the hygiene monitoring system 100
detected the controlled Handwashing Event, recording the ID of the
sink 102 at which the caregiver washed her hands, updating a
contamination status for the caregiver to "Not Contaminated",
updating an infraction status for the caregiver to "Compliant", and
if the caregiver was contaminated prior to the controlled
Handwashing Event updating the compliance rating for the caregiver.
By only updating the compliance rating if the caregiver was
contaminated, the hygiene monitoring system 100 prevents caregivers
from artificially inflating their compliance rating by performing
unnecessary handwashings. Moreover, the hygiene monitoring system
100 in processing the controlled Handwashing Event further provides
the caregiver with an indication of her status by, for example,
causing the badge 112 to stop blinking, causing the sink 102 to
display a "Handwashing Confirmed" message, and causing the sink 102
to display the ID and current compliance rating for the
caregiver.
[0082] The caregiver after successfully washing her hands may enter
patient room A and remain in patient room A for a period of time
greater than the Exposure Time associated with patient room A, thus
causing an Exposure Event. Accordingly, the hygiene monitoring
system 100 detects the Exposure Event (step 314) and processes the
Exposure Event (step 316). The hygiene monitoring system 100 in
processing the Exposure Event generally updates information
associated with the caregiver by storing the ID of the caregiver,
storing the time the hygiene monitoring system 100 detected the
Exposure Event, storing the location at which contamination
occurred, and updating the contamination status associated with the
caregiver to "Contaminated". Moreover, the hygiene monitoring
system 100 in processing the Exposure Event provides the caregiver
with an indication that her status is "Contaminated" by, for
example, causing the badge 112 to blink yellow.
[0083] The caregiver may then leave patient room A enter a hallway
and travel down the hallway for a period of time that is greater
than the Trigger Limit for patient room A, thus causing an
Infraction Event. The hygiene monitoring system 100 detects the
Infraction Event (step 324) and processes the Infraction Event
(326). The hygiene monitoring system 100 in processing the
Infraction Event generally updates information associated with the
caregiver by storing the ID of the caregiver, storing the time the
hygiene monitoring system 100 detected the Infraction Event,
updating the infraction status of the caregiver to "Infraction
Level 1", storing information about the Infraction Event (e.g. did
not wash hands within Trigger Time of leaving patient room A), and
updating the compliance rating of the caregiver. Further, the
hygiene monitoring system 100 provides the caregiver with an
indication that her status is "Infraction Level 1" by, for example,
causing the badge 112 to slowly blink red.
[0084] The caregiver may then enter patient room B and remain in
patient room B for a period of time greater than the Entry Limit
associated with patient room B without successfully washing her
hands, thus causing another Infraction Event. The hygiene
monitoring system 100 detects that the caregiver was in a
contamination zone (step 306), detects that the caregiver was
contaminated (step 308), detects the Infraction Event (step 310)
and processes the Infraction Event (step 312). The hygiene
monitoring system 100 in processing the Infraction Event generally
updates information associated with the caregiver by storing the ID
of the caregiver, storing the time the hygiene monitoring system
100 detected the Infraction Event, updating the infraction status
of the caregiver to "Infraction Level 2", storing information about
the Infraction Event (e.g. did not wash hands within Entry Time of
entering patient room B), and updating the compliance rating of the
caregiver. Further, the hygiene monitoring system 100 provides the
caregiver with an indication that her status is "Infraction Level
2" by, for example, causing the badge 112 to increase its rate of
blinking red.
[0085] The caregiver may remain in patient room B for a period of
time greater than the Exposure Time associated with patient room B,
thus causing an Exposure Event. Accordingly, the hygiene monitoring
system 100 detects the Exposure Event (step 314) and processes the
Exposure Event (step 316). The hygiene monitoring system 100 in
processing the Exposure Event generally updates information
associated with the caregiver by storing the ID of the caregiver,
storing the time the hygiene monitoring system 100 detected the
Exposure Event and storing the location at which contamination
occurred. Since the caregiver's contamination status is already
"Contaminated" the hygiene monitoring system 100 need not update
the contamination status to "Contaminated". Moreover, the hygiene
monitoring system 100 in processing the Exposure Event continues to
provide the caregiver with an indication that her status is
"Infraction Level 2" by, for example, continuing to cause the badge
112 to blink red at the increase rate.
[0086] The caregiver may then leave patient room B enter a hallway
and travel down the hallway for a period of time that is greater
than the Trigger Time for patient room B, thus causing another
Infraction Event. The hygiene monitoring system 100 detects the
Infraction Event (step 324) and process the Infraction Event (326).
The hygiene monitoring system 100 in processing the Infraction
Event generally updates information associated with the caregiver
by storing the ID of the caregiver, storing the time the hygiene
monitoring system 100 detected the Infraction Event, updating the
infraction status of the caregiver to "Infraction Level 3", storing
information about the Infraction Event (e.g. did not wash hands
within Trigger Time of leaving patient room B), and updating the
compliance rating of the caregiver. Further, the hygiene monitoring
system 100 provides the caregiver with an indication that her
status is "Infraction Level 3" by, for example, causing the badge
112 to blink red at an even faster rate than is associated with
"Infraction Level 2".
[0087] The caregiver may then enter patient room C and remain in
patient room C for a period of time greater than the Entry Time
associated with patient room C without successfully washing her
hands, thus causing another Infraction Event. The hygiene
monitoring system 100 detects the Infraction Event (step 310) and
processes the Infraction Event (312). The hygiene monitoring system
100 in processing the Infraction Event generally updates
information associated with the caregiver by storing the ID of the
caregiver, storing the time the hygiene monitoring system 100
detected the Infraction Event, updating the infraction status of
the caregiver to "Infraction Level 4", storing information about
the Infraction Event (e.g. did not wash hands within Entry Time of
entering patient room C), and updating the compliance rating of the
caregiver. Further, the hygiene monitoring system 100 provides the
caregiver with an indication that her status is "Infraction Level
4" by, for example, causing the badge 112 to be continuously lit
red, and causing an audible alarm to be activated whenever the
caregiver is in proximity of a handwashing device 101.
[0088] In response to noticing the audible alarm and the badge 112
indicating "Infraction Level 4", the caregiver may then stop at a
sink 102 located in the patient room C, successfully wash her hands
and exit patient room C before the Exit Time has expired, thus
causing a controlled Handwashing Event. Accordingly, the hygiene
monitoring system 100 detects the controlled Handwashing Event in
patient room C (steps 318), processes the controlled Handwashing
Event (step 320), and determines that the caregiver exited the
patient room C before being recontaminated (step 322). In
particular, the hygiene monitoring system 100 in processing the
controlled Handwashing Event updates information associated with
the caregiver by recording the ID of the caregiver, recording the
time the hygiene monitoring system 100 detected the controlled
Handwashing Event, recording the ID of the sink 102 at which the
caregiver washed her hands, updating the contamination status for
the caregiver to "Not Contaminated", updating the infraction status
to "Compliant", and if the caregiver was contaminated prior to the
controlled Handwashing Event updating the compliance rating for the
caregiver. Moreover, the hygiene monitoring system 100 in
processing the controlled Handwashing Event further provides the
caregiver with an indication of her status by, for example, causing
the badge 112 to no longer light on LED causing the sink 102 to
display a "Handwashing Confirmed" message, and causing the sink 102
to display the ID and current compliance rating for the
caregiver.
[0089] The caregiver may then enter a high risk contamination zone
(e.g. an isolation room, waste utility room, public restroom)
having an Exposure Time of zero, thus causing an Exposure Event.
Accordingly, the hygiene monitoring system 100 detects the Exposure
Event (step 314) and process the Exposure Event (step 316). The
hygiene monitoring system 100 in processing the Exposure Event
generally updates information associated with the caregiver by
storing the ID of the caregiver, storing the time the hygiene
monitoring system 100 detected the Exposure Event and storing the
location at which contamination occurred, and updating the
contamination status for the caregiver to "Contaminated". Moreover,
the hygiene monitoring system 100 in processing the Exposure Event
continues to provide the caregiver with an indication that her
status is "Contaminated" by, for example, causing the badge 112 to
blink yellow.
[0090] The caregiver may then exit the high risk contamination
zone, re-enter patient room A, and successfully wash her hands
before the expiration of the Trigger Time associated with the high
risk contamination zone and before the expiration of the Entry Time
associated with patient room A. Accordingly, the hygiene monitoring
system 100 detects the controlled Handwashing Event in patient room
C (step 310 or step 324) and processes the controlled Handwashing
Event (step 312 or step 328). In particular, the hygiene monitoring
system 100 in processing the controlled Handwashing Event updates
information associated with the caregiver by recording the ID of
the caregiver, recording the time the hygiene monitoring system 100
detected the controlled Handwashing Event, recording the ID of the
sink 102 at which the caregiver washed her hands, updating the
contamination status for the caregiver to "Not Contaminated",
updating the infraction status for the caregiver to "Compliant",
and if the caregiver was contaminated prior to the controlled
Handwashing Event updating the compliance rating for the caregiver.
Moreover, the hygiene monitoring system 100 in processing the
controlled Handwashing Event further provides the caregiver with an
indication of her status by, for example, causing the badge 112 to
no longer light an LED, causing the sink 102 to display a
"Handwashing Confirmed" message, and causing the sink 102 to
display the ID and current compliance rating for the caregiver.
Equipment Monitoring
[0091] The use of equipment badges 113 and usage sensors 119 on
equipment 115 generally allows the hygiene monitoring system 100 to
more accurately pinpoint when an event has occurred with a piece of
equipment 115 that requires a handwashing. For example, if the
hygiene monitoring system 100 determines that (i) a caregiver 110
has entered a patient zone, (ii) the caregiver has remained in the
zone for a given length of time, and (iii) the IV pump has been
activated during the given length of time, then the hygiene
monitoring system 100 can deduce with a high degree of confidence
that the caregiver has set an IV line, thus requiring the caregiver
to wash her hands before entering the next contamination zone.
Accordingly, the handwashing logic of FIG. 6 and the handwashing
logic of FIG. 7 may be further modified such that the master
station 129 determines whether a caregiver 110 needs to wash her
hands based upon a caregiver's likely usage of equipment 115.
[0092] Furthermore, the use of equipment badges 113 on equipment
115 enables the hygiene monitoring system 100 to monitor compliancy
with hygiene standards defined for the equipment 115. In
particular, much of the support equipment 115 within a patient room
is electronic and requires special handling when cleaning between
patient. The standard practice within most hospitals is that
housekeeping is not allowed to clean these devices and the
responsibility of such cleaning falls upon the nurse. Since this
support equipment 115 commonly comes into direct contact with very
sick patients with potentially transferable diseases, such
equipment 115 must be decontaminated (or cleaned) before used with
another patient.
[0093] Referring to FIG. 9, there is depicted a flowchart of
exemplary equipment decontamination logic utilized by the exemplary
hygiene monitoring system 100. In general, the master station 129
executes the procedure depicted in FIG. 9 whenever equipment 115
having an equipment badge 113 is moved from one location to another
location or whenever a new patient is admitted to a patient room
containing monitored equipment 115.
[0094] As illustrated in FIG. 9, the master station 129 in step 402
determines whether a piece of equipment 115 having an equipment
badge 113 is in a new location. The master station 129 in the
exemplary embodiment makes this determination by processing
location information for the equipment 115 which the master station
129 has received via the equipment badge 113 and the sensors 118 of
the hygiene monitoring system 100. If the location information for
the equipment 115 indicates that the current location of the
equipment 115 is the same as the last location for the equipment
115 (e.g. the current location and the last location of the
equipment 115 are the same patient room), then the master station
129 in step 402 determines that the equipment 115 is not in a new
location and proceeds to step 404 in order to determine whether a
new patient is with the equipment 115. However, if the location
information for the equipment 115 indicates that the current
location of the equipment 115 is not the same as the last location
of the equipment 115 (e.g. the current location of equipment 115 is
a first patient room and the last location of the equipment 115 was
a different patient room), then the master station 129 proceeds to
step 406 in order to determine whether a new patient is with the
equipment 115.
[0095] In step 404, the master station 129 of the exemplary
embodiment determines whether a new patient is with the equipment
115 by comparing patient location information received via badges
112 with equipment location information received via equipment
badges 113. If the master station 129 determines based upon the
patient location information and the equipment information that a
new patient is with the equipment 115 (e.g. the equipment location
information indicates the equipment 115 is in a first patient room
and the patient location information indicates that a patient who
has not previously been detected in the first patient room in now
in the first patient room), then the master station 129 determines
that a new patient is with the equipment 115 and proceeds to step
410 to confirm whether the equipment 115 has been cleaned. On the
other hand, if the master station 129 determines based upon the
patient location information and the equipment information that a
new patient is not with the equipment 115 (e.g. the equipment
location information indicates the equipment 115 is in a first
patient room and the patient location information indicates that
the patient who is in the first patient has been previously
detected in the patient room), then the master station 129
determines that a new patient is not with the equipment 115 and
stops execution of the equipment decontamination logic until the
next triggering event.
[0096] Similarly, the master station 129 of the exemplary
embodiment in step 406 determines whether a new patient is with the
equipment 115 by comparing patient location information received
via badges 112 with equipment location information received via
equipment badges 113. If the master station 129 determines based
upon the patient location information and the equipment information
that a new patient is with the equipment 115 (e.g. the equipment
location information and the patient location information indicate
that the equipment 115 and the patient have not previously been in
the same patient room at the same time), then the master station
129 determines that a new patient is with the equipment 115 and
proceeds to step 410 to confirm whether the equipment 115 has been
cleaned. On the other hand, if the master station 129 determines
based upon the patient location information and the equipment
information that a new patient is not with the equipment 115 (e.g.
the equipment location information and the patient location
information indicate that the equipment 115 and the patient have
previously been in the same patient room at the same time), then
the master station 129 determines that a new patient is not with
the equipment 115 and proceeds to step 408.
[0097] In step 408, the master station 129 determines whether the
equipment 115 needed to be cleaned due to exposure to a high risk
contamination zone such as an isolation room or a waste utility
room. To this end, the master station 129 of the exemplary
embodiment determines that the equipment 115 needed to be cleaned
and proceeds to step 410 if equipment location information for the
equipment 115 indicates that the previous location of the equipment
115 was a high risk contamination zone. Otherwise, the master
station 129 stops execution of the equipment decontamination logic
until the next triggering event.
[0098] The master station 129 in step 410 determines whether the
equipment 115 has been successfully cleaned since the equipment 115
was last used by another patient or was last exposed to a high risk
contamination zone. To this end, the master station 129 determines
based upon caregiver and patient location information received from
the badges 112, equipment location information received from the
equipment badges 113, and cleaning information received from the
cleaning sensor 121 whether the equipment 115 has been successfully
cleaned since last being contaminated. In particular, the master
station 129 determines when the equipment 115 was last contaminated
by the equipment's most recent exposure to either another patient
or a high risk contamination zone by analyzing received equipment
location information and patient location information. Further, the
master station 129 determines whether the equipment 115 has been
successfully cleaned since the equipment's last exposure to either
another patient or a high risk contamination zone by analyzing
cleaning information received from the associated cleaning sensor
121. In the exemplary embodiment, the master station 129 and/or the
cleaning sensor 121 enforces adequate cleaning of the equipment 115
by requiring that (i) the person cleaning the equipment 115 be in
close proximity to the equipment 115 for at least a minimum
cleaning period of time, (ii) the cleaning sensor 121 detect
moisture associated with the cleaning process for at least the
minimum cleaning period of time, and/or (iii) the cleaning sensor
121 detect physical contact associated with the cleaning process
for at least the minimum cleaning period of time.
[0099] If the master station 129 in step 410 determines that the
equipment 115 has been successfully cleaned, then the master
station 129 stops execution of the equipment decontamination logic
until the next triggering event. However, if the master station 129
in step 410 determines that the equipment 115 has not been
successfully cleaned, then the master station 129 in step 412
activates a cleaning status alarm associated with the equipment 115
and records the fact that the patient has been exposed to a
contaminated piece of equipment 115. As a result of activating the
cleaning status alarm, an indication is provided that the equipment
115 needs to be cleaned. For example, lights on the equipment 115
itself and/or a status monitor for the patient room may be
illuminated. Also, sound may be emitted from the equipment 115
and/or a status monitor for the patient room.
[0100] Similar to step 410, the master station 129 in step 414
determines whether the equipment 115 has been successfully cleaned
since the activation of the cleaning status alarm. To this end, the
master station 129 determines based upon caregiver and patient
location information received from the badges 112, equipment
location information received from the equipment badges 113, and
cleaning information received from the cleaning sensor 121 whether
the equipment 115 has been successfully cleaned. In particular, the
master station 129 analyzes the information received from badges
112, 113, and the associated cleaning sensor 121 in order to
determine whether (i) the person cleaning the equipment 115 has
been in close proximity to the equipment 115 for at least a minimum
cleaning period of time, (ii) the cleaning sensor 121 has detected
moisture associated with the cleaning process for at least the
minimum cleaning period of time, and/or (iii) the cleaning sensor
121 has detected physical contact associated with the cleaning
process for at least the minimum cleaning period of time.
[0101] If the master station 129 in step 414 determines that the
equipment 115 has not been successfully cleaned, then the master
station 129 returns to step 412 to make another determination of
whether the equipment 115 has been successfully cleaned. If the
master station 129 in step 414 determines that the equipment 115
has been successfully cleaned, then the master station 129 in step
416 deactivates the cleaning status alarm which was activated in
step 412 and records the fact that the equipment 115 has been
successfully cleaned.
[0102] The following scenario illustrates the operation of the
hygiene monitoring system 100 in implementing the equipment
decontamination logic of FIG. 9. To begin, a first patient who is
wearing an ID wristband equipped with a badge 112 is admitted to a
patient room. Later, a clean IV pump that is equipped with an
equipment badge 113 and cleaning sensors 121 is brought into the
patient room. As a result, the master station 129 would determine
that the equipment 115 has changed location (step 402) and a new
patient is with the equipment 115 (step 406). The master station
129 then would determine in step 410 that the equipment 115 has
been cleaned since its last use or exposure to a high risk
contamination zone. Accordingly, the master station 129 would exit
the procedure without activating the cleaning status alarm.
[0103] After two days, the patient is transferred from his patient
room in the intensive care unit (ICU) to another room of the
surgery floor. The IV pump accompanies the patient during the
transfer to the new room. Accordingly, the master station 129 would
determine that the equipment 115 has changed location (step 402)
but that a new patient is not with the equipment 115 (step 406).
The master station 129 then would determine in step 408 that the
equipment 115 has been not been contaminated due to exposure to a
high risk contamination zone. Therefore, the master station 129
would exit the procedure without activating the cleaning status
alarm.
[0104] In another day, the first patient is discharged from the
hospital and the IV pump is returned to the ICU floor and placed
into the original patient room with a new patient who is wearing an
ID wristband equipped with a badge 112. At this point, the master
station 129 would determine that the equipment 115 has changed
location (step 402) and that a new patient is with the equipment
115 (step 406). The master station 129 then would determine in step
410 that the equipment 115 has been not been cleaned since being
contaminated due to being exposed to the discharged first patient.
Accordingly, the master station 129 in step 412 would activate the
cleaning status alarm associated with the IV pump and record the
fact that the IV pump was not cleaned before being placed in the
room with the new patient. The master station 129 would then
continually monitor the IV pump until the cleaning sensors 121
indicate that the IV pump has been properly cleaned (step 414). At
which time, the master station 129 would deactivate the cleaning
status alarm associated with the IV pump and record the fact that
the IV pump has been properly cleaned (step 416).
Compliance Reports and System Interface
[0105] Shown in FIGS. 4, 10-12, 13A, 13B, and 14 are various
examples of different compliance reports 128 that are generated by
the hygiene monitoring system 100. While the exemplary compliance
reports 128 only depict compliance information associated with
handwashing, the compliance reports 128 could easily be modified or
new compliance reports created which depict compliance information
associate with proper equipment cleaning practices. In one
embodiment, hygiene compliance is analyzed using chi-squared
analysis. In another embodiment, hygiene compliance compares
handwashing events to employee movement. In another embodiment,
every Event that affects the Contamination Status, Infraction
Status, Compliance Rating, or Maintenance Status as well as every
change in location for a badge 112, 113 is reported to the master
station 129. Such information is sent to the master station 129 in
the form of messages. Exemplary messages are presented in Table
1.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Message When Data Location Entry Transmitted
when a badge is first seen in a Badge ID location. Sensor ID
Timestamp Location Exit Transmitted when a badge is no longer seen
Badge ID by a sensor. Sensor ID Timestamp Contamination Event
Transmitted when a Badge ID's status Badge ID changes from "not
contaminated" to Sensor ID "contaminated". Timestamp Infraction
Event Transmitted each time an event affecting an Badge ID
individual's compliance rating occurs. Sensor ID Timestamp
Infraction Level Controlled Handwash Transmitted when a Controlled
Handwash Badge ID Event Event has been completed. Sensor ID
Timestamp Failed Handwash Transmitted when a Failed Handwash Event
Badge ID Event has occurred. Sensor ID Timestamp Maintenance
Request Transmitted when the status bits of a Sensor ID Event
particular faucet monitoring device indicate Timestamp that a
Maintenance Activity is required. Maintenance Activity
[0106] FIG. 10 shows a hospital summary report. The hospital
summary report provides a summary of compliance to handwashing
guidelines for the hospital as a whole and specific departments
within a healthcare environment. The purpose of the report is to
identify departments within the hospital that have the most
difficulty with compliance so that corrective action may be taken.
As can be seen in FIG. 10, the report provides the time period that
this report is associated with, an overall compliance rating and a
breakdown of compliance ratings based upon department. As shown in
FIG. 10, department ICU had a 70 percent compliance for a total
number of 1500 visitations during the time period of October
1999.
[0107] In FIG. 11, a department summary report is shown. The
department summary report provides a summary of the compliance to
handwashing guidelines for a specific department within a
healthcare environment. The purpose of the report is to identify
areas within the unit and groups of caregivers which have the most
difficulty with compliance so that corrective action may be taken.
As shown in FIG. 11, the department summary report includes the
department name and number, the time period for which the report is
generated and an overall department compliance rating. The report
also breaks the department down into different locations or zones.
These are provided with a specific identification number (e.g.
location 201). This breakdown allows the person viewing the report
to determine which zones are having the most difficulty with
handwashing compliance. Also shown in FIG. 11, is the compliance
for each zone along with the number of visitations to that zone
during a specific time period. The department summary report also
provides a breakdown for the groups within the report showing the
individual groups compliance ratings. This breakdown allows quick
identification of the contribution made by each group to the
overall compliance rating.
[0108] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a group summary report.
The group summary report provides a summary of the compliance to
handwashing guidelines for a specific group of caregivers within
the healthcare environment. The purpose of the report is to
identify areas within the unit where the compliance is low so that
corrective action may be taken within a specific group of
caregivers. As can be seen from FIG. 12, the visiting physician
group summary report contains the department name and number, the
time period of the report and the overall compliance rating of the
report. The report breaks the department down into different
locations or zones. This breakdown allows the person reviewing the
report to determine which zones are having the most difficulty with
handwashing compliance. The report also breaks down the group into
the individuals within the group showing their identification
number, name, number of visitations and the individual compliance.
This allows identification of the contribution of each individual
to the overall compliance rating of the group.
[0109] FIG. 13A shows an individual summary report. The individual
summary report provides a summary of the compliance to handwashing
guidelines for a specific individual within a healthcare
environment. The purpose of the report is to identify areas within
the unit wherein an individual is having the most difficulty with
compliance so that corrective action may be taken. As shown in FIG.
13A, the individual summary report includes the identification
number of the person, the name of the person, the department and
group to which the person belongs, the time period for the report,
and the compliance rating for the department. Also provided are the
different locations or zones within the department with the number
of visitations the particular individual made to those zones, and
the individual's compliance rating during those visits.
[0110] FIG. 13B shows a detailed compliance report for an
individual. The detailed compliance report provides a summary of
the compliance to handwashing guidelines for a specific individual
over a specific time period within the healthcare environment. The
purpose of the report is to understand traffic patterns of the
individual so that greater insight as to why compliance is not
occurring may be gained. As shown in FIG. 13B, the identification
number of the individual, the name of the individual, the
department and group to which the individual belongs, the time
period for which the report is being generated, and the compliance
rating for the individual are shown. The lower portion of the
report breaks down the locations or zones the individual visited
along with the times of the visits and the status that was recorded
by the handwashing monitoring logic.
[0111] FIG. 14 shows an exemplary user interface 500 of the hygiene
monitoring system 100. In the exemplary embodiment, the user
interface was implemented as a MedModel application executing on
the master station 129. As is known to those skilled in the art,
MedModel is a software tool of ProModel Corporation which is
generally used for simulation modeling of healthcare facilities. As
depicted, the user interface 500 generally includes a floor layout
502 and a scoreboard status 505. The floor layout 502 generally
depicts the zones and rooms 504 of the facility as well as
handwashing devices 506, equipment 508, and persons 510. In the
exemplary embodiment, the zones and rooms 504 are color coded in
order to enable a user to quickly identify the classification of
the zones and the room 504. Moreover, the handwashing devices 506
are depicted such that they blink if there is a problem associated
with the handwashing device (e.g. out of soap). Moreover, equipment
508 and persons 510 are also color coded in order to depict their
current status (e.g. contaminated, or not contaminated).
[0112] The scoreboard status 504 generally provides pseudo-realtime
statistics and other information for the facility. For example, as
depicted in FIG. 14, the scoreboard status 504 may provide a
display of running compliance rates in regard to a defined
handwashing policy for the facility. In particular, the scoreboard
status 504 may be set to display overall and unit compliance
ratings and contribution of sanitizer and handwashing events over
the past hour, day, month and year.
[0113] The user interface 500 also enables a user to view or modify
status details based upon a clearance level associated with the
particular user. In the exemplary embodiment, a user may have a
first clearance level, a second clearance level, or a third
clearance level associated therewith. If a first clearance level is
associated with the user, then the exemplary user interface 500
enables a user to select a given room 505 in order to view the
classification of the room, status of sensors in the room, and
overall compliance associated with the room. A user having a second
clearance level may do all of the above with respect to rooms 505
plus the user may respond to maintenance alarms and change room
classifications via the user interface 500. Further, a user having
a third clearance level may do all of the above with respect to
rooms 505 plus the user may reconfigure room layout and sink
locations, reassign sensor classifications (e.g. associated with or
not associated with a handwashing device), change color layout,
view managerial reports such as running compliance rates and
employee compliance rates.
[0114] If a user has the first clearance level, then that user may
also select a sink 506 in order to obtain system status information
for the sink, obtain a graphic display of soap level and scrub
duration setting, obtain a graphic display of the unit use profile
for the past day, month or year compared to the average and overall
use of all other sinks, obtain information comparing completed
versus failed controlled handwashing events for the sink, and
obtain a graphical display of mechanical performance rating for the
sink. If a user has the second or third clearance level, then that
user may perform all of the above actions in regard to sinks 506
plus the user may respond to maintenance alarms associated with the
sinks.
[0115] If a user has the first clearance level, then that user may
also select a hand sanitizer 506 in order to obtain system status
information for the hand sanitizer, obtain a graphic display of
sanitizer level and scrub duration setting, obtain a graphic
display of the unit use profile for the past day, month or year
compared to the average and overall use of all other sinks, and
obtain information comparing completed versus failed controlled
handwashing events for the hand sanitizer, and obtain a graphical
display of mechanical performance rating for the hand sanitizer. If
a user has the second or third clearance level, then that user may
perform all of the above actions in regard to hand sanitizers 506
plus the user may respond to maintenance alarms associated with the
hand sanitizers.
[0116] If a user has the third clearance level, then that user may
further select a person 510 to display the ID number of individual,
obtain a graphical display of the individuals compliance and the
individuals contribution of sanitizer and handwashing events for
the past day, month or year compared to average and overall
compliance rating, obtain distribution of infraction levels for the
individual, and obtain an employee profile for the individual
including name, number, title, unit etc.
[0117] If a user has the first clearance level, then that user may
further select equipment 508 to display a description of the
equipment, display the current status of the equipment, obtain a
graphic display of the cleaning profile for the past day, month or
year compared to average and overall cleaning of all other devices,
and obtain a graphical display on overall compliance to cleaning
for the equipment. If a user has the second clearance level, then
that user may perform all of the above in regard to equipment 508
plus the user may respond to maintenance alarms associated with the
equipment. If a user has the third clearance level, then that user
may perform all of the above in regard to equipment 508 plus the
user may reclassify the ID associated with the equipment.
[0118] It is within the scope of the present invention for the same
overall system to be used for a multitude of applications. As
already stated the system can be used to monitor handwashing
compliance, monitoring device activity, equipment tracking, and
visitor tracking. By utilizing the same backbone infrastructure the
cost for the entire system is able to be spread across a multitude
of applications. Additionally the cost of adding additional modules
such as visitor tracking is minimal because the backbone
infrastructure is already in place.
* * * * *